Reflections: Outskirts of Antigua
| Events: |
Nacimientos | New Year 2004 | My First Taller | Lenten Processions |
Places: |
Antigua | Outskirts of Antigua |
Topics of Interest: |
Volcanoes | Security Concerns |
My
landlady, Doņa Aura and I, go out walking in the morning. I get a lesson
inthe history and inhabitants of Antigua. As we pass one or another of the
houses on the street that lead out of the town center, she often talks about
the residents (or former residents of 30 years ago!), providing lots of
amusing information about the families or about the decor of the inside.
It is lovely to walk in the early morning when there is less traffic, the
skies are clear, and the streets freshly washed. We have walked in several
directions now and have been to sections of town I have never before seen.
Although I could never find most of the locations again on my own, I have
seen important ruins and weird buildings (including the cozy little house
that is only a meter and a half across overlooking a lovely small plaza!)
that I had earlier overlooked.
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As we walk we can really appreciate the transition to the rural and cultivated areas away from the town, but even more we can see the evidences of the growth in population that is creating new housing communities all around town. Antigua is a desirable place for the wealthy who want a place to get away from the crime, crowding, and pollution of the capital. Much of the historic housing stock in the center is owned by foreigners who purchased the old colonial houses as an "investment." Prices have sky-rocketed over the past decade with some houses selling for prices in the millions. Others are still in families that have lived in them for generations. And in any case, the lack of "mod cons" causes many buyers to look for new construction with proper wiring for multiple electrical and electronic devices, and with spaces more adaptable to their lifestyles than the enormous, high-ceilinged rooms of the colonial architects. There are also, of course, people will ill-gotten gains who launder their excess money through real estate! Whatever the various factors, new construction is everywhere around Antigua, some economical enough to serve ordinary Guatemalans, but much of it intended for very affluent buyers. The "gated community" has arrived here!
In some sense, the timing is convenient, since the impact of the global
fall in coffee prices has made coffee fincas (plantations) unprofitable.
In
spite of Starbucks' recent announcement that Antigua coffee is the best,
many families are getting out of the coffee business and selling their land
for housing development. This process is stripping much of the green area
from Antigua's outer edges because the town is surrounded by fincas. The
expensive condominium clusters are often built in styles that feign the
colonial beauty of Antigua with fountains,little plazas, cupolas, interior
courtyards, and the customary riot of house paint colors. These, and their
bigger non-condominium private mansions (mostly not visible from any road!)
are the "country homes" of capitaleņos (people from Guatemala City), people
spending up drug money, politicians (spending money stolen from the government?),
and wealthy foreigners. Some are gated, with guards who look doubtfully
at me and doņa Aura in our exercise clothes and won't let us in. Others
are still under construction, and there we are treated as possible customers.
It seems a little sad to me that this urban swelling eventually will take
away some of Antigua's charm - already there are traffic and pollution problems.
It also seems a pity that so little can be done to preserve the ecological
value of these former cultivated spaces. But there's not much money in that,
I suppose!